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Abiotic and Biotic Links Work Two Ways: Effects on the Deposit at the Cliff Foot Induced by Mechanical Action of Date Mussel Harvesting (Lithophaga lithophaga)

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Abstract

The existence of linkages between ecological and geomorphological processes and the influence of human activities both on the biota and on geomorphology is well known for terrestrial environments, while it has been seldom reported for submerged ones. A survey in the Noli-Bergeggi area (NW Mediterranean Sea) has been carried out to test the hypothesis that the harvesting of Lithophaga lithophaga has an impact not only on the hammered rock, but also on the sediments at the cliff foot. Size and roundness of pebbles have been measured at different stations and statistical analyses have been used to test the differences between impact and control situations. Results show a dependence of the roundness of pebbles on the date mussel harvesting, indicating a decrease both of the roundness index and of its variability at the cliff foot in impacted sites. Conclusions stress the biogeomorphological nature of this activity, not limited to the present location.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Giada Ciribilli (GE), Camilla Croci (GE), Mattia Mollo (SV), and Felice Zanini (SV) for field assistance. Marco Donato (SV) and Francesca Ferraris (GE) provided useful comments in the early phase of the manuscript. The authors would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments.

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  1. DipTeRis, Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Alessio Rovere, Stefano Bellati, Valeriano Parravicini, Marco Firpo, Carla Morri & Carlo Nike Bianchi

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  1. Alessio Rovere
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Correspondence to Alessio Rovere.

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Rovere, A., Bellati, S., Parravicini, V. et al. Abiotic and Biotic Links Work Two Ways: Effects on the Deposit at the Cliff Foot Induced by Mechanical Action of Date Mussel Harvesting (Lithophaga lithophaga). Estuaries and Coasts 32, 333–339 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-008-9127-7

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